Electric fan.



No. 685,720. Patented Oct. 29, 190i. G. C. HAWKINS.

ELECTRIC FAN.

A i ncubion filed Jan. 24, 1901.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GARDNER C. HAWKINS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO BOSTON ELECTRIC HEATING AND POlVER COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, AND

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

ELECTRIC FAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 685,720, dated October 29, 1901.

Application filed January 24, 1901. Serial No. 44,564. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- on the shaft and run downinto the fan. The

Be itknown that I, GARDNER C. HAWKINS, upper end of. the armature-shaft is provided a citizen of the United States, residing at Boswith a suitable centering device. ton, in the county of Suffolk and State of Mas- Another feature of the invention resides in 5 sachusetts,haveinvented an Improvement in making the armature-shaft hollow and in Electric Fans, of which the following descripplacing therein an operating-rod connected to tion, in connection with the accompanying a rheostat contained in the casing above the drawings, isaspecification, like characters on motor, whereby the speed of the motor may the drawings representing like parts. be regulated from beneath.

IO This invention relates to electric fans and Figure 1 of the drawings illustrates a verits object is to provide a novel fan which is tical section of an electric fan embodying my adapted to be suspended vertically from the invention, and Fig. 2 a detail showing one ceiling of the room where it is to be used. form of rheostat or switch. Heretofore in some devices of this class when- The motor for operating the fan may be of 15 ever the fan has been suspended from the any suitable kind and is designated generceiling or mounted upon a vertical shaft the ally by M, the field-magnets of said motor beoil in the bearings has worked down the aring stationarily mounted in a suitable casing mature-shaft from the bearings and into the A, and, as illustrated, the said casing is profan, so that articles under the fan are liable vided with the flanged rings 3, which form a 20 to be spattered with oil, the rapidly-revolvsupport for the said field-magnets of the moing fan throwing the oil in fine drops. tor. The armature at is mounted upon a ver- My invention has for one of its objects to tical hollow shaft 5, which is supported in provide a form of bearing for the vertical arbearings, as herein described, the said shaft mature-shaft of the fan which will prevent having fixed thereto at its lower end the fan 2 5 the oil from coming in contact with the arma- F, which may be of any suitable type. The

ture-shaft, and thus prevent any oil from becasing A is suspended from the ceiling by 7 ing thrown by the fan. This object is acmeans of the pipe 6, the said pipe furnishing complished by providing a cup-shaped beara conduit for the wires of the circuit which ing having an exterior and an interior confurnishes power to the motor, the line-wire as 30 centric flange, said flanges forming between being shown as connected directly to the them an annular oil-chamber, in which rests brush 8, and the brush 8 being connected by abell-shaped bearing member attached to the the wire 20 to the contactplate 21 of the armature-shaft, the said armature-shaft passswitch 10, and the line-wire 3 leading to the ing through an aperture in the cup-shaped switch-point 9, the said switch being of any 35 hearing, which is slightly larger than the said suitable type and being supported upon the shaft, the said shaft being centered by makportion 11 of the casing, as illustrated in Fig. 8 5 ing the lower edge of the bell-shaped mem- 1. The cap-plate 12 of the casing has an arm ber of such a size as to fit the exterior side 13 projected therefrom, to which is attached walls of the cup-bearing. The bell-shaped a tube 14 of some suitable insulating matc- 40 member is spaced from the inner concentric rial, such as porcelain, around which are flange of the cup-bearing so as not to contact wound the coils 15 of a suitable resistance therewith, and the conical or hell shape of the medium, such as German-silver wire, the said bearing member prevents the oil in the oilresistance being connected to the points 9 and chamber from being thrown upward or onto 16 of the switch 10,as shown diagrammatically 5 the armature, and as there is no contact bein Fig. 2. The movable switch-point 22 is attween the bell-shaped member and the inner tached to the upper end of a rod 23, which 5 wall or concentric flange of the cup-bearing passes through the hollow armature-shaft 5 or between the armature-shaft and the cupand projects somewhat beyond the lower end bearing there is no chance for the oil to get of the fan, said projecting end terminating in a handle or knob 24, by means of which the said rod maybe manipulated. From this description it will be seen that by turning the rod 23 the movable switch-point 22 may be turned so as to either cut out the motor, throw in the resistance 15, or cut the said resistance out, according as the motor is to be stopped, to be run at half speed, or to be run at full speed, and such manipulation of the switch is done from beneath the fan.

It is common in eeiling-fans to provide the rotating shaft to which the fan is attached with a step-bearing below the fan, this construction being employed in preference to one in which the step-bearing is above the fan, because in the latter construction the oil from the bearing is extremely liable to run down the armature-shaft from the bearing and be thrown by the fan. In order to prevent this, I have devised a step-bearing for the rotating armature-shaft,which is situated between the armature and fan and which is so constructed that it is impossible for the oil to contact with the armature-shaft. In my improved stepbearing the armature-shaft passes through the bearing, but does not contact therewith, the shaft being supported by a conical or hellshaped flange or hearing member which is rigid with the shaft and rests at its lower edge in an annular groove or chamber in a cupshaped bearing member fast to the casing, the said chamber containing oil. The lower edge of the bell-shaped bearing member has a tip extending therefrom, which engages the outside wall of the annular chamber, thus holding the shaft against any lateral movement and preventing it from contacting with the walls of the aperture through the hearing. The inner surface of the bell-shaped or.conical flange or hearing is spaced from the inner flange or wall of the cup-shaped bearing, so as not to contact therewith, and hence it is impossible for the oil to work up over said inner flange and down through the bearing. The said bell-shaped bearing is also provided with a series of apertures, and owing to the bell shape of the bearing member any oil which tends to Work up the inside surface of the same toward the armature-shaft is thrown by centrifugal force out through the apertures and down the outside surface thereof toward that portion which has the largest diameter.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the casing A is provided at its lower portion with a head 30, having a central recess in which is rigidly secured the cup-shaped bearing member 31, the said bearing member having centrally therethrough an aperture slightly larger than the armature-shaft and through which the said shaft projects, said cup-shaped bearing member being provided with the exterior flange 32 and the concentric interior flange 33, the said flanges forming between them an annular oil-chamber in which is supported the bell-shaped bearing 34, fast upon the armature-shaft.

The lower edge of the bell-shaped bearing 34: rests upon the bottom of the cupshaped bearing 31, and in order to prevent the armatureshaft from contacting with the bearing I have made the said lower edge of the bell-shaped bearing 3a with a lip 31 of such a size as to fit and contact with the inner wall of the exterior flange An annularspace is left between the inner wall or surface of the bellshaped bearing 3% and the inner flange of the cup-bearing, the bell-shaped bearing 34 engaging the cup-bearing only on the bottom of the oil-chamber. It will thus be seen that the bell-shaped bearing 3% is in the nature of a step-bearing, which supports the weight of the armature-shaft and has the additional function of centering the said shaft, so as to prevent it from coming in contact with the bearing and to prevent the armature from striking the field-inagnets. A suitable oilduct 35 leads into the cup-bearing 32 and projects through the casing A, whereby oil may be supplied to the oil or bearing chamber of the said cup-bearing. The exterior surface of the bell-shaped bearing 3% is conical, as shown at 36, by reason of which construction it will readily be seen that the centrifugal force of the said rapidly-rotating bell-shaped bearing 34: will operate to prevent the oil from working up the outside of the same to the smaller portion of the conical surface, this construction therefore preventing the oil from working up onto the armature. Since there is no contact between the inner flange 33 and the bell-shaped bearing 31, the oil in the cupbearing 31 will not work up over said flange and down the interior of the aperture in said cup-bearing 31, as would be the case if the bell-shaped member had a bearing against said flange I will preferably provide the said bell-shaped bearing with a series of apertures G0, which cooperate with its inner conical face 37 to prevent any oil from working up onto the shaft 5 beneath said bearing member, the centrifugal force throwing the oil either out through said aperture to the exteriorsurface of the bearing member 34: or down to the larger portion of said inner surface 37, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

From the above description it will be seen that the only place of contact between the rotating and stationary parts of the step-bean ing, and hence the only portion that needs lubrication, is between the lower edge of the bell-shaped bearing 3+1: and the bottom of the cup member 32, and because of the bell shape or conical construction of the step member 3-1 and the annular space between the inner flange 33 and the said step member 34 the oil is prevented from coming in contact with the shaft 5, and there is no danger, therefore, of any oil getting either onto the armature or into the fan.

Preferably the upper end of the armatureshaft will have some suitable centering device attached thereto, so as to hold the shaft in proper alinement, and thus prevent the armature from striking the field-magnet, and such centering device is illustrated as an inverted-eup-shaped bearing 40, which is rigidly fastened to the said shaft, the lower portion of said cup-shaped member rotating in an annular chamber 41 in the portion 11 of the casing, said chamber being formed by the upturned annular flange 42. This annular flange 42 surrounds an aperture which is slightly larger than the armature-shaft 5, and the said shaft is centered by the outturned flange 43 of the said cup-shaped member 40 engaging the outer wall of the chamber 41, as illustrated. It will be seen from Fig. 1 that an annular space is left between the cupshaped centering devices 40 and the annular flange 42 of the casing, so that the only hear ing-surface at the upper end of the armatureshaft is between the flange 43 and the exterior wall of the chamber 41, the whole weight of the armature-shaft being supported by the step-bearing at the lower end of the casing. Preferably a suitable aperture 50 will be bored through the portion 11 of the casing for the purpose of supplying oil to the chamber 41, and this aperture may be closed by any suitable plug or screw, as shown. As seen in Fig. 1, the centering device 40 has a series of apertures 40 therethrough, which apertures perform the same function as the aperture in the bell-shaped bearing member 34. Inasmuch as the armature-shaft does not itself touch the bearing at any point and because of the particular shape of the bearing members, it will be seen that the centrifugal action will absolutely prevent any oil from getting onto the armature-shaft.

The fan F is of especial construction-that is, it has the two concaved disks 61 and 62, the disk 62 being solid and secured concentrically to the shaft 5 in anysuitable way and the disk 61 being larger than the disk 62 and having the enlarged central aperture 63 therein, the two disks being secured together by a series of radially-arranged vertical partitions or floats 64, which extend from the aperture 63 to the outer edge of the disk 61 and divide the space between the two disks into a series of radially-arranged channels. As the fan is rotated the air is drawn through the central aperture 63 and is forced by centrifugal action out through the channels between the floats 64, as will be readily understood.

It will be obvious that various changes may be made in the construction of the device without departing from the spirit of my in vention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-==- 1. An electric fan, comprising a suspended easing, an electric motor therein having an armature arranged to rotate about a vertical axis, a hollow armatureshaft to which the fan is attached, a resistance-coil and a switch in said casing above the motor, and an operating-rod passing through the hollow armatureshaft and projecting below the fan whereby the speed of the motor may be regulated from beneath.

2. An electric fan comprising a suspended casing, a motor therein, having a verticallyarranged armature-shaft to which the fan is attached, a cup -shaped bearing concentric with said armature-shaft, and a bell-shaped bearing member rigidly attached to the armature-shaft and having its lower edge seated in said cup-shaped bearing, the lower edge only of the bell-shaped member engaging the cup-bearing, the inner surface of said bellshaped member being spaced from the inner wall of the cup member.

3. An electric fan comprising a suspended casing, a motor therein, having a verticallyarranged armature-shaft to which the fan is attached, a cup-shaped bearing concentric with said armature-shaft, and a bell-shaped bearing member rigidly attached to the armature shaft and supported in said cupshaped bearing, the bearing edge of the bellshaped member contacting with the outside wall of the cup-bearing whereby the armature-shaft is centered and the inner surface of the said bell-shaped member being spaced from the inner wall of the cup member.

4. An electric fan comprising a suspended casing, an electric motor therein having a vertically-arranged armature-shaft to which the fan is attached, a stationary bearing member mounted in the lower end of the casing and having an aperture therein slightly larger than the armature-shaft and through which said shaft projects, an annular chamber surrounding said aperture, and a conical bearing member rigid with the armature-shaft and supported at its lower end in said annular chamber, the conical surface of the rotating bearing member preventing the oil in the chamber from working up onto the armatureshaft.

5. In an electric fan, a suspended casing, a motor therein, having a vertically-arranged armature-shaft to which the fan is attached, a cupshaped bearing concentric with the said shaft and having an aperture slightly larger than said shaft and through which said shaft projects, a bell-shaped step-bearing rig idly attached to the shaft and supported in said cup-bearing, said bell-shaped step-bearing member having a series of apertures therein.

6. In an electric fan, a suspended casing, a motor therein, having a vertically-arranged armature-shaft to which the fan is attached, a cup-shaped bearing concentric with the said shaft and having an aperture slightly larger than said shaft and through which said shaft projects, a bell-shaped step-bearing rigidly attached to the shaft and supported in said cup-bearing, said step-bearing being spaced from the inner wall of the cup-bearing, and a centering device for the upper end of said shaft.

7. In an electric fan, a motor having a vertically-arranged armature -lshaft, a fan attached to the lower end of said shaft, a stepbearing supporting said shaft between the fan and armature, said step-bearing comprisingastationary cup-bearingandabell-shaped member rigidly secured to the armature-shaft and supported in said cup-member, the inner face of said bell-shaped member being out of contact with the cup-bearing, combined with a centering device for the upper end of the shaft.

8. In an electric fan, a motor having a vertically-arranged armature-shaft, to which a fan is attached, a step-bearing for the lower end of said shaft comprising a cup member having an aperture slightly larger than the said shaft and through which the shaft projects, and a bell-shaped member fast on the armature-shaft and resting in said cup member, combined with a centering device for the upper end of the shaft comprising a stationary support surrounding the said shaft without contacting therewith said support having an annular groove, and a flanged collar fast on the shaft and engaging the exterior wall of said groove.

9. An electric fan comprising a suspended casing, an electric motor therein having a verticallyarranged armature-shaft to which a fan is attached, a resistance-coil and a switch in said casing above the armature and means operable from beneath the fan to control the switch whereby the resistance coil may be thrown into or out of the circuit.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GARDNER O. HAWKINS.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. GREGORY, Louis 0. SMITH. 

